Signs reading "We R Howard," and "fair contract now" Thursday danced in circles on the sidewalk in front of the Howard Center on South Winooski Avenue in Burlington.

Staff looked out from the windows above as nearly two dozen unionized Howard Center employees, members of other unions and Burlington residents picketed to voice their concerns over wages, safety and employee retention.

Employees held a public hearing in June to voice the same concerns, but Mike Kurt, a Howard Center employee, said the union has yet to see action.

They took their concerns to the streets for the first time Thursday and picketed twice — once Thursday morning at the intersection of Flynn Avenue and Pine Street, and again downtown.

"We've been working without a contract for nine months, and we've been negotiating for almost a year to get a fair wage for people who work at the Howard Center," Kurt said.

The unionized employees are represented by the America Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 93, and they are currently involved in collective bargaining with Howard Center management for a new contract.

The Howard Center is a nonprofit health care provider that serves more than 15,000 individuals and families each year.

The agency began contract negotiations in April 2014, and the two sides have had 16 sessions to date, according to a news release.

"We look forward to reaching a settlement so that we can get the additional compensation and benefits we have ordered to direct care workers and continue our focus on service to our clients and community," said Executive Director Bob Bick in a news release Thursday. "Our proposals represent our commitment to improving employee compensation and benefits, even in anticipation of state funding cuts."

The agency has failed to pass along employee funds that were to be appropriated through a bill passed by the Vermont State Legislature, Kurt said.

Picketers walk picket line in front of Howard Center on South Winooski in Burlington on Thursday.(Photo: KEVIN HURLEY/for the FREE PRESS)

The bill included an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates to providers such as the Howard Center, effective Nov. 1, 2013 — specifically a 3 percent increase for Howard Center employees.

"We want to know where that $2 million went," Kurt said. "They say they don't have it, so where did it go?"

In June, then-Executive Director Todd Centybear told the Burlington Free Press that workers had received the funds, which worked out to about 2 percent since the legislation did not go into effect until four months into the Howard Center's fiscal year. However, he said he had understood the Medicaid reimbursement as funds that could be used toward funding a negotiated 1.6 percent salary increase, and not as another additional compensation.

In its collective bargaining session for a new contract in 2012, the union negotiated a 1.6 percent increase on base salaries, according to papers filed in the court by the Howard Center. The union argues that the 3 percent increase was supposed to be in addition to the 1.6 percent salary increase.

"It never happened," Kurt said. "It's been too long."

Matt McGrath of Vermont Workers Center and Nik Gruswitz, a Howard Center employee, walk in a picket line with others in front of Howard Center on South Winooski Street in Burlington on Thursday.(Photo: KEVIN HURLEY/for the FREE PRESS)

Low wages are pushing employees out of the agency and in search of higher paying jobs, said Diana Bailey, a family clinician at the Howard Center.

Bailey said she makes far less money in her current position than she did in previous employment, even though she has a master's degree and 30 years of experience. The Howard Center pays her $18 per hour, she said.

In addition to a pay raise, Bailey said she would like to see a reasonable amount of paid time off.

"This is stressful work," she said. "In order to do a good job, you have to have personal and mental health time yourself."

The Howard Center currently covers 83 percent of health care premiums for employees and their families, according to the news release. Full-time staff receive 36 days of paid time off in their first year of employment. Tenured staff receive more.

Addressing compensation for all staff in Chittenden County is a significant priority in the Howard Center's strategic plan, Bick said in a statement.

"There are far more issues and opportunities to work toward together that unite us rather than divide us," he said. "Most importantly, all of our staff — supervisors, managers, administrative support personnel and direct care staff — work every day to improve the lives of children, adults and families in our community."